Planouraph co



P. H. LINT.

FRUIT GMHERER.

APPLlcAloN mw 1AN.a.t91a.

1,317,927. l Patented oct. 7,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'ma toLUMmA MnounAr-n co., WAIHIWGWN. D. c.

yUNTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Oet. '7, 1919.

Application led January 3, 1.918. Serial No. 210,104.

To all whom fit may concern:

Be .it known that I, PETER H. LINT, a citizen of the United States, residing at El Cerrito, in the county of Contra Costa and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fruit-Gatherers, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide a fruitgatherer, especially adapted for .gathering prunes from the ground, which will accommodate itself to inequalities in the surface of the ground, and by which the fruit will vbe gathered and separated from leaves, twigs, 4and other foreign lsubstances.

\ In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the fruit gatherer; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof; Fi 3 is a detail longitudinal section .thereog Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail horizontal section; Fig. 5 is a yview similar to Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an end view of an advancing wheel; Fig. 7 is a detail :broken sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6; Fig. V8l is a detailsectional view.

.Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates wheels mounted upon a shaft 2 supported in the rear portion of a frame 3 and advanced -by .means of a handle 4 having a yoke 5, the ends of which are secured to bearings 6 of said shaft.

To the front portions of the sides of said frame are secured vsides 7 of triangular frames 8. Through the vertices of said frames lextends a shaft v9, en lwhich are 4,oufnted pinionsl 11, which engage respectively.intennalggeanteeth 12 of rings 13 held in engagement [with said Ipinions=by rollers 14 on'theffeuterwends-of. bent arms 16,.the V.innenendaof whlfih aregpi-votallysecured on said shafftw-Sad rollersengage-the inforftised'outer-qedges o;E-said rangs. v'losaid `rings are Ygemir-edprongs 1,8 `which extend Aolollquely outward therefrom; -As said'nings .rI01'l.-0|'f1 fth i aand. their` prongsd, `being en contact Withffthafground,,penetrate tlut vdysngidwreen, ersengege the fruits@ that it l 'lies between. the :prongs The triangular franieevare' prevented-,from dropping out of -engagenient-.withitherings, not only lby the Mailgatetaaasaiaeaaaaebyem verse sha'ts 19 through the other corners of said frames 8, to which shafts arepinned, as shown at 21, yokes 22 the side members of whichengageopposite sides of the respective rings.

To the sides of the pinions 11 are also secured arms 23, which are equally spaced from each other and curve outward from said pinion. Thesecurved arms or removers revolve rapidly with the pinions, and, as they revolve, since they intervene `between adjacent prongs, they serve to remove from sald prongs the prunes or other fruit raised by the prongs. lnunediately that the fruit 1s raised from off the yends of the prongs, it is engaged by spring ,ngers 24 of an advancing Wheel. Said fingers are formed of pieces of spring wire bent at regular intervals, to form lingers and to the ends of which are secured two disks 27 provided with trunnions 28 which rotate in bearings in ends of frame pieces 29 which are secured to the frame 1. Sprocket wheels 31 are carried on the outer ends of said trunnions 28 projecting through said frame pieces 29, and around said sprocket wheels 3l travel sprocket chains 32, which alsotravel around sprocket Wheels 33 on `the shaft 2, andaround sprocket -wheels 34;` on extension frames 36 secured to the frame vpieces 29, and also around sprocketwheels 37 rotatably carried bythe frame pieces '29. Thereby the advancing -wheelis rotated -iirom the `wheels 1. The advancing wheel `thus servesV to remove the prunes .from thevarins 23 and to advance lthembn to a chute formed of metal strips r38-rlooselyattaehed at their lower ends to a transverse bar `35 and resting upon a cross bard() spaced from the bar 35. Saidrnetal Strips Yare spaced suiciently -far apart so thatfethe arms 23 can 4pass therebetween. From saidchute 381the `prunes roll onto an upwardly and forwardly inclined endless draper $3.91,the yrollers of which vare yrotated by sprocket wheels 34 on the saine'shatts as,

the 4sprocket .wheels .34 -and 'fby @rocket i wheelsltl rotatably earried on the frames 36.

fBy the `motion of said sprocket chains the Tdiaper iscausedato move upwardly -ndier- -verdlyand thereby Sends .eem leef all mounted (itiV leaves, twigs and other foreign matter, whereas the prunes, being comparatively heav 1 and round, roll down the draper notwithstanding that it is traveling upward, and thus roll on to a second endless draper 42, to the rollers of which motion is imparted by sprocket wheels 37 on the same shafts as the sprocket wheels 37 and sprocket Wheels 43, rotatably carried by extension frames 44 secured to the frame piece 29. This second draper is inclined upwardly and rearwardly and its upper portion also moves in that direction and serves to carry off leaves, twigs and other like foreign matter, while the prunes themselves roll down to the bottom of the draper and drop into an open box 46 carried by the frame between the wheels 1.

The followingl is the reason for employing two drapers traveling in opposite directions. A small roel", picked up from the ound, may roll flown the first draper with the prunes unless it should happen to fall with a flat surface on the draper. But if it shall fail to fall on the first draper with a flat surface in contact. with the draper, then, by providing two drapers traveling in opposite directions, there is a second chance for it to fall with a dat surface on a draper, and to be carried up by the draper away from the receptacle for receiving the prunes.

The frames 36 and 44 extend sufficiently above the drapers to form side guards for the prunes rolling down the drapers.

In order to prevent either endless draper from creeping to one side or the other, there is secured to the center of the inner side thereof, as shown in Fig. 8, a rope 59 which travels in annular grooves 61 in the centers of the rollers 62 of said drapers.

When it is desired to raise the rings 13 out of contact with the ground, this is done by means of front wheels 47 0n shafts 48 supported by the lower ends of rearwardl directed arms 49, the upper ends of which7 are pivoted, as shown at 51, to the front corners of the frames 8. Said lower ends of the arms are connected to the front ends of links 52, the rear ends of which are connected to the lower ends of arms 53 depending from a shaft 54 having its bearings in the sides of the frame 3, to the center of which shaft is secured an end of an o eratin handle 56 provided with a rack 5 and atch 58 for olding said handle in any desired position. Upon pressing the handle, the lower ends 'of the arms 53 are moved downwardly, thereby causing the front portion of the .frame to be supported by the wheels 47 and raising the picker rings 13 from olf the ground.

1. In a fruit gathering machine, the combination of side frames, upper and lowerv transverse. shafts, the ends of which are 1n said side frames, independentpiEer rigshaving internal gear teeth, each ring encircling all of saidl shafts, forks extending from the lower of said shafts, their members engaging opposite sides of the respective rings` pinions on an upper shaft meshing with the internal teeth of the respective rings, means engaging an outer portion of each ring for holding it in engagement with the corresponding pinion, removers extending from said pinions between the rings, and means for advancing the fruit from said removers.

2. In a fruit gathering machine, the combination of side frames, three transverse shafts, the ends of which are mounted in said side frames, independent picker rings having internal gear teeth, each ring encircling all of said shafts, devices extending from two of said shafts and engaging opposite sides of the respective rings, pinions on the third shaft meshing with the internal teeth of the respective rings, means engaging an outer portion of each ring for holding it in engagement with the corresponding pinion, removcrs extending from said pinions between the rin s, and a wheel and sprinu fingers carrie thereby for advancing the fruit from said removers.

3. In a fruit athering machine, the cornbination of sic e frames, three transverse shafts, the ends of which are mounted in said side frames, independent picker rings having internal gear teeth each ring encircling all of said shafts, forks extending from two of said shafts and engaging oppositesides of the respective rings, pinions on the third shaft meshing with the internal teeth of the respective rings, means en aging an outer portion of each ring for hol ing it in engagement with the corresponding pinion, removers extendingy from said pinions between the rings, means for advancing the fruit from said removers, and an inclined draper arranged to travel upwardly, and down which the fruit can roll, and a box carried by the frame and arranged to receive the fruit leaving said draper.

4. In a fruit athering machine, the combination of si e frames, three transverse shafts, the ends of which are mounted in said side frames, independent picker rings havin internal gear teeth, each ring encircling al of said shafts, devices extending from t'wo of said shafts and engaging on 'opposite sides the respective rings,i pinions on the third sh aft meshing with respective rings, means engaging an outer portion of 'each ring for holdingvit in engagement with the corresponding pinion, 'removers extending from said pinionsl between the rings, a wheel and sprinv ngers carried thereby for advancing t e fruit from said removers, a chute on to which the fruit is moved by said wheel, and dra ers 'arf ranged-to travel upwardly, and' inclined u ward inlopposite directions,` `downwlaieh t e the internal teeth ofthe' fruit can roll in succession, and a box cardrapers for se arating foreign material from ried by the frame and arranged to receive the the fruit, sai drapers traveling upwardly fruit leaving said drapers. in opposite directions and being arranged to 10 5. In a fruit gathering machine, the comrecelve thereon'in succession the foreign ma- 5 bination of rotary fruit picking apparatus, terial.

removers for removing the fruit from said picking apparatus as 1t rotates, and endless PETER H. LINT.

Copie! o! this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner ot Patenti, Wnhinton, D. 0. 

